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  • #61
    Continued beating of that dead horse...

    The wacky bunch at the Scoliosis Research Society state the following on their web site...

    http://www.srs.org/patients/adolesce.../treatment.php

    The patient can perform regular daily activities and generally returns to school in 3-4 weeks.

    So in addition to our surgeon, we see the good folks at both Scottish Rite and at SRS appear to think kids "usually" and "generally" return to school in 3-4 weeks. Additionally, our orthopod, who did some training at Scottish rite and is a member of the SRS told us a similar time frame. Despite not being a member of the SRS, our surgeon also agrees. He was recommended by our orthopod and indeed, he appears on recent list of doctors who other doctors would go to themselves. That is in keeping with fact that our surgeon is treating our orthopod's daughter for scoliosis.

    So other than some testimonials here, it all appears to be consistent with the 3-4 week time frame. I don't understand the longer trajectories as posted on this site in light of all these claims to shorter trajectories by folks who do so many surgeries. It doesn't seem to be due to complications so I'm at a loss.

    Yesterday, one week out, Savannah walked a mile and then sat for an hour at the computer. I'm guessing the key to a quick recovery might be walking (as opposed to sitting at the computer!). Or so it seems. We will see how things play out.

    sharon
    Last edited by Pooka1; 04-03-2008, 05:30 PM.
    Sharon, mother of identical twin girls with scoliosis

    No island of sanity.

    Question: What do you call alternative medicine that works?
    Answer: Medicine


    "We are all African."

    Comment


    • #62
      Let it go

      Originally posted by Pooka1
      The wacky bunch at the Scoliosis Research Society state the following on their web site...

      http://www.srs.org/patients/adolesce.../treatment.php

      The patient can perform regular daily activities and generally returns to school in 3-4 weeks.

      So other than some testimonials here, it all appears to be consistent with the 3-4 week time frame. I don't understand the longer trajectories as posted on this site in light of all these claims to shorter trajectories by folks who do so many surgeries. It doesn't seem to be due to complications so I'm at a loss.
      sharon
      Hi Sharon,

      Everyone is different. If you look in a thread I started a few weeks ago "How Long Before Back to Norm?" you'll see that the time frame varies greatly for when children return to school. Personally, I would much rather listen to other parents who have walked this path with their kids. In short, the 3-4 weeks stated above is only a guideline.

      Please stop questioning why recovery takes longer for other people, because for many people it does. Kim could go back to school part-time today, two weeks post-op. Some kids take three months. It doesn't mean anything, it's just that everyone is different.

      So to put it bluntly, it doesn't matter what the guideline says, it only matters how Savannah does and as her parent you ensure that she returns to school when it is right in her recovery.

      Obviously you care greatly for your children and I have complete faith that you will guide her back to the appropriate activities when the time is right.

      My best wishes to your family during this recovery period,
      ca-native (daughter had surgery)

      Comment


      • #63
        I couldn't agree more Elaine,

        Elysia is back to school at 7 weeks post-op and I don't regret her time off one bit!!!!

        WE had a lovely time off together, we home schooled, went to the librarys, the parks, one day went for a few hours to the children's musuem!

        She is back at school this week, no pillow, no trolleys, carrying her bag on her back, travelling to sport by bus, (not participating, but helping out by scoring for the games.) She has returned with me being able to relax that everything is fine. Her back gives her no trouble, ribs a little bit and that's it.

        She has a maths test today and I know she knows all the work and is going to blitz the exam and shock the socks off her teacher.

        Her English teacher was amazed at the novel that she has almost completed writing about her story.

        So for those that go back to school 2 weeks - Congratulations.
        For those that go back to school 2 months - Congratulations.

        Cheers
        Del
        Elysia 16 in Feb 2010
        Sydney - Australia
        Feb 2008 Fused T5-L1 and 5 ribs removed.
        Dec 2009 - Crankshafting
        Dec 10 - Revision surgery...3 vertebrae taken down, hooks removed, at T11-L1 - screws inserted, fusion extended down to
        L3 using Pedicle screws, some rib removed to try to derotate. Praying for things to settle.

        Comment


        • #64
          Originally posted by ca-native
          So to put it bluntly, it doesn't matter what the guideline says, it only matters how Savannah does and as her parent you ensure that she returns to school when it is right in her recovery.
          Yes of course. This isn't actually/mostly about Savannah or the other kids at this point.

          I now have an academic curiosity about the large differential between what the top-shelf scoliosis sites claim and reality as experienced on this forum. Is nobody else even a little curious about how different the two things are?

          I can tell you if there was some large discrepancy like this on some topic in my research field, I would be trying to figure it out, if only out of curiosity.

          Maybe the issue is too small a sample size here... that's my candidate hypothesis now.

          I can say that if the 3-4 week time frame is off for Savannah, I'm going to be in the office asking what in particular about her case might have caused that. If there was something we could have done but failed to do, or something we did that we shouldn't have done, then I'll post it for other parents facing this. I certainly would appreciate knowing that before going into the recovery period.

          Thanks for your thoughts on this.

          Best regards,
          sharon
          Last edited by Pooka1; 04-03-2008, 08:44 PM.
          Sharon, mother of identical twin girls with scoliosis

          No island of sanity.

          Question: What do you call alternative medicine that works?
          Answer: Medicine


          "We are all African."

          Comment


          • #65
            Sigh............. am I going to regret posting this? I hope not!

            Sharon, come join me in evening art classes (I start next week) and stop worrying about who, what when and why some kids recover faster than others.

            I'm going to go out on a limb here and state up front, that I did not go to University or have any Tertiary education so I hope my ignorance doesn't show too much but.... it's pretty obvious why there is a variation.

            Some kids (and adults) are fit before surgery, others aren't.
            Some kids have minor complications - others don't.
            Some kids have Posterior surgeries - others don't.
            Some kids have Anterior surgeries - others don't.
            Some kids have Thoracoplasty - others don't.
            Some kids are fused T5-L1 - others T1 - L5.

            This list can be 5 miles long - but my point that I'm trying to make is....
            A surgeon can only give out a general guideline as to a recovery period.
            How could they possibly tell a recovery period other than just give out a standard time frame. What they do provide accurately is a time frame for the Do's and Don'ts of the Lifting, bending etc and even then they all seem to have their own opinions on that as well.

            Also - I don't know about your surgeons in the States... but I didn't see a questionnaire from ours when we went to see him as..

            So? When did Elysia start back at school?
            At what stage did Elysia come off meds?
            At what stage was she sleeping in her own bed?
            Etc etc

            My personal observation from my experience and chatting with others is these surgeons don't really know much about the post-op care and what's involved. They are there to do a job and that's carry out the surgery. They presume there's no problems after your discharged from hospital if they don't get a phone call.

            When we saw our second opinion Surgeon, he asked me "How's Elysia's health?" I replied - Great! He said "Health check over". Huh?? He explained, Mothers know their kids best and know when they're sick - I agree. We're the best to judge when the child is ready to go back to school.

            Okay - I'm dismounting from my high horse now and gunna go pack my brushes and paints.

            Cheers
            Del
            Elysia 16 in Feb 2010
            Sydney - Australia
            Feb 2008 Fused T5-L1 and 5 ribs removed.
            Dec 2009 - Crankshafting
            Dec 10 - Revision surgery...3 vertebrae taken down, hooks removed, at T11-L1 - screws inserted, fusion extended down to
            L3 using Pedicle screws, some rib removed to try to derotate. Praying for things to settle.

            Comment


            • #66
              Del,

              Maybe I should just go to art class with you instead of getting sucked into esoteric side issues!

              I can only assume all those surgeons averaged over all the case types (the ones you listed and the rest of the 5 miles) and came up with the 3-4 week range. Otherwise it would be so useless as to be equivalent to not stating any typical recovery time at all. And I must say, based on the testimonials here, it certainly appears completely useless at this point.

              And I think you are right that surgeons aren't necessarily particularly careful in collecting data like time to return school. But then I wonder why those sites I posted all seem to converge on the same time range if not from patient data. Seems like more than a coincidence.

              sharon
              Last edited by Pooka1; 04-04-2008, 06:56 AM.
              Sharon, mother of identical twin girls with scoliosis

              No island of sanity.

              Question: What do you call alternative medicine that works?
              Answer: Medicine


              "We are all African."

              Comment


              • #67
                Well said, Del. Same goes for adult recoveries. There are so many varying aspects of the surgeries coupled with the overall health of the patient, that no two recoveries are alike. Length of recovery can't be predicted accurately because of those differences. Quicker recovery doesn't make anyone a better person, just as the flip side doesn't mean they're problematic, lazy, out of shape or whatever. That's why it doesn't help to try to compare. We are all winners by getting through the surgery and plowing on with our lives.

                Sharon-- I agree with you about heading off to art class! Don't get sucked in... and if it still really bothers you, you could always contact the site(s) and ask how they determined the time frame they give. My guess (yes, just a guess) is that is a best-case scenario based on an average simple (ha!-- maybe "straightforward" is a better word here) scoli surgery that probably isn't one of the lengthy ones--by that I mean fewer levels being fused, no other problems, etc. Again, our surgeries are like our fingerprints... there would be way too many t-factors to figure in to come up with any viable data-- in my opinion.

                Since this isn't going anywhere, it's probably time to let this horse die... it just isn't that important. Taking care of your kids is, and the parents on this forum obviously care enough about their children to know what is best for them concerning returning to school, etc. Take care.
                71 and plugging along... but having some problems
                2007 52° w/ severe lumbar stenosis & L2L3 lateral listhesis (side shift)
                5/4/07 posterior fusion T2-L4 w/ laminectomies and osteotomies @L2L3, L3L4
                Dr. Kim Hammerberg, Rush Univ. Medical Center in Chicago

                Corrected to 15°
                CMT (type 2) DX in 2014, progressing
                10/2018 x-rays - spondylolisthesis at L4/L5 - Dr. DeWald is monitoring

                Click to view my pics: pics of scoli x-rays digital x-rays, and pics of me

                Comment


                • #68
                  Originally posted by Susie*Bee
                  Sharon-- I agree with you about heading off to art class! Don't get sucked in... and if it still really bothers you, you could always contact the site(s) and ask how they determined the time frame they give.
                  I take your point but I think at least some parents including me would have given much more thought to having surgery during the school year if all these surgeons said (admitted?) the typical/general/usual return to school was 6-7 weeks as opposed to 3-4 weeks. I personally would have pressed our surgeon FAR more (I didn't press him at all) about the risks of waiting until the end of the school year or at least to the last month of the school year (a delay of only 2 months in our case) if I had known the typical recovery period was DOUBLE that advertised let's say.

                  Call me crazy.

                  sharon
                  Sharon, mother of identical twin girls with scoliosis

                  No island of sanity.

                  Question: What do you call alternative medicine that works?
                  Answer: Medicine


                  "We are all African."

                  Comment


                  • #69
                    I don't post much usually just read but I've got to say something.

                    I'm going on on a limb here because this subject is RIDICULOUSLY STUPID!!!

                    Sharon ~ let it go already no one child is exacly like another child before/during/or after surgery there will be several variables and that is it.

                    You are actually insulting those who don't do as well as your daughter ~ Yes I'm glad she is doing well and I hope that continues but ENOUGH already.

                    Yes you are CRAZY ~ otherwise you would have never brought it up again ~ You have absolutely nothing to prove to anyone. What you are doing is not at all the least bit constructive nor does it offer support to anyone now or anyone reading in the future.

                    For someone who is as educated as you say you are you really are dumb in not realizing how insensitive you are being to other parents/children reading who may not be doing as well.

                    FOR ALL OF OUR SAKES ~ LET IT GO!!

                    Respectfully, Amanda


                    No need to reply just let this post fade away ~ Thank you
                    Last edited by amandap; 04-04-2008, 09:09 AM.
                    Amanda

                    Mom to Lorena 7 yrs old
                    Diagnosed 8/2005 ~ 26 Degree Curve
                    Progressed to 42 Degrees by Dec 05
                    Milwakee Brace 1/16/06 - 6/26/06
                    Vertebral Stapling on 6/26/06 @ Shriners in Philadelphia
                    26 Degree Post Op Curve
                    Last X-Rays December 07 ~ 26 Degree Curve
                    Email: domingo_amandapompa@msn.com
                    Website: www.vertebralstapling.com
                    YouTube Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6GmX3K7FIs

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